Find a Job You Really Want In
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When we normally think of Atlanta things like southern hospitality, all time rap and RB greats, and sweet tea on a summer’s day.
But there’s also a strong economy and job market that has been improving in recent years.
Here at Zippia, we like to take a closer look at local economies to understand what jobs and industries are doing better than others. We think this helps job seekers and people thinking of moving to the area for a job know what to expect.
So we set our sights on uncovering the best industries within Atlanta. After examining all the available data, we arrived at this list of the five best industries for jobs in Atlanta:
- Technical Jobs
- Sales Jobs
- Education Jobs
- Legal Jobs
- Freight and Trucking Jobs
Read on to see how we determined which industries rise above the competition to become the best of the best.
How we determined the best industries in the Big Peach for jobs
We believe that the data never lies or that it at least lies a lot less than any one person’s opinion. So we went on a mission to collect as much data as we could about the Atlanta job market.
At the end of the day, we were able to find the following, relevant criteria for determining the best industries:
- Average Salary
- Job Availability
- Average Stress Level Of Jobs In The Industry
The sources of data include the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Department of Labor.
Stress level is an index created by self reported statistics from people in the industry.
For a detail table of the data, check out the bottom of the post.
For now, carry on to learn more about why the various industries are so great for jobs.
1. Technical Jobs
Average Salary: $83,270
Relative Availability: 1.44
Stress Index: 383
The combination of the second highest average salary of any profession in Atlanta and the most relative availability make the Tech industry the best available around town.
However, there’s a relatively high amount of stress at these jobs, but not enough to scare job seekers away.
2. Sales Jobs
Average Salary: $41,610
Relative Availability: 1.06
Stress Index: 218
While people with sales jobs don’t get nearly the same as people in the tech industry, they don’t have anywhere close to the same level of stress (fourth best overall).
So while you won’t need to spend as much time in school for a sales job relative to a tech job, you can at least breath while you’re there.
3. Education Jobs
Average Salary: $47,850
Relative Availability: 0.94
Stress Index: 203
The education industry includes professions like education admins and librarians. They are the kind of jobs that require a lot of education and can be kind of hard to obtain.
But, the pay is above average and the stress level (minus the screaming kids) isn’t that bad. So, overall, jobs in education are pretty envious.
4. Legal Jobs
Average Salary: $103,790
Relative Availability: 1.16
Stress Index: 449
While everyone loves to hate lawyers, they’re happy to take money to the bank. People in the legal profession average the highest salary of any industry.
But that ubiquitous hate does play a toll on you, people in the legal profession report a very high level of stress.
5. Freight and Trucking Jobs
Average Salary: $37,090
Relative Availability: 1.25
Stress Index: 353
Rounding out the top five best industries in Atlanta are freight and trucking jobs. These jobs pay the least of any industry in the top 5, but make up for it the availability of jobs and a relatively low level of stress.
Summing up the best industries
There you have it; the tech industry is the best industry to be in if you live around Atlanta. Even if it’s not silicon valley, there are still a fair amount of jobs available for computer geeks and data analysts floating around.
On the other end of the spectrum, the farming industry ranks as the worst in Atlanta mostly due to bad pay and scarcity of jobs.
All of that to say, try to stick to a computer and air conditioning if you can — it’s the best around.
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
